Remote Debugging

There are two main ways to debug Lua code running on your Vera device:
in one case the debugging is initiated from the IDE (Project | Start Debugging),
and in the other case the debugging is started remotely, from the Vera device,
when triggered by a scene, plugin, or as part of startup Lua code.

If you are already familiar with Vera debugging you start from the IDE
you may notice that it didn’t require any modifications to the Lua code itself,
but in the case of a remote request we need to specify when to start and
stop debugging and where to send the debugging request.

There are two methods for initiating a remote debugging session in your Luup code,
and they both use require('mobdebug').start() to start the debugging
and require('mobdebug').done() to continue execution of the script without debugging.

Both of these methods are described using scene debugging as an example,
but they work in exactly the same way for other types of debugging
(plugins,
watch,
request, and others).

Method 1

This method will require you to specify the domain name or IP address of the computer running the IDE as a parameter to the .start() function call.
You will do this as follows (using IDE-IP-address as the address in this example):

Copy the following code into a new Automation scene on the Vera under the Luup tab. You can call the scene whatever you want, but for this example, we will use ZBSTest.

When you start this code on your Vera, the code require('mobdebug').start('IDE-IP-address') will initiate a remote debugging session, causing a new window to open on in the IDE showing the code being run on your Vera.
This session will continue until it is terminated or the .done() function is called.

You need to have the debugger server started in the IDE (if it hasn’t been started already) for this method to work.
It will be started automatically if you started debugging at least once, but if it’s not started yet, you can do that by going to Project | Start Debugger Server
(if the option is unavailable, it means the server is already started).

Method 2

This method is similar to the first method, but you will not specify the IP address of the remote system running the IDE.
Instead, you will start the debugging session in the IDE before running the code on your Vera.

Copy the following code into a new Automation scene on the Vera under the Luup tab.
You can call the scene whatever you want, but we will use ZBSTest.
If you already have created a scene called ZBSTest, then replace the Luup code from before with the code here:

Start debugging in the IDE by selecting Project | Start Debugging.
You can run any simple code as the only reason for the step is to “register”
the address of the IDE with the Vera device, so the next time the debugging
is triggered from the device, it is connected to the IDE.

Run the scene.

This will start a debugging session like before, the only change is you had to “register” the debugging session in order for the debugger to find the system with the IDE supporting the remote debugging and start it.

This method only works until the Luup engine is restarted (and in some cases it can be restarted by the Vera device without warning).
If you can’t get the debugging started in the IDE, try running the second step one more time.

You don’t need to worry about leaving start() calls in your code as if the debugger can’t connect to the IDE,
it will continue execution of the script after a small delay.

“Using ZeroBrane is a breath of fresh air! I've gained more ground on the plug-in the past few hours than I had in the previous week. I attribute that to auto-completion and the ability to debug remotely; seldom ever leaving the IDE.” (aechelon)

“You ROCK!!! I'm simply amazed that this worked! I didn't expect to be able to debug [register_handler and variable_watch] event types!” (Shawn C)

“works really well... should be very helpful to people starting-out with Lua/Luup programming for Vera scenes and plugins.” (RexBeckett)

“Love the debugger, saving my life.” (Troy Sandal)

“I have been programming computers for about 35 years and I don't think I have ever seen an environment that is easier to get started with.” (Adrian)

“ZeroBrane Studio has got a working debugger, full IDE feature set, small footprint, and is completely customizable in lua.” (Jonathan Shieh)